We Were Just Sleeping
by Annabeth Black
Summary: Luna tells an angry Rose about what sleeping together meant during the War.


"It's not fair!"

The teenager's screech echoed throughout the house. In the kitchen there was a muffled shout from what sounded like her father but being a feisty red-head like her aunt, Rose Weasley wasn't taking it. With an insulted shriek she stormed out of The Burrow and into the garden where she began to kick at the flower pots her grandmother had so lovingly arranged.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Any gnomes hiding in those might get upset."

After the few decades of trauma and hardship that had passed Luna Lovegood still had her airy-fairy voice which had surprised a lot of the people who knew her. Despite being imprisoned, tortured and turned into an orphan Luna still smiled the brightest and retained all of her wild ideas which was one of the reasons the children loved her so much and the adults kept her around. Luna was a beacon for them all in one way or another. The only issue was that shining so bright left her a bit odd.

"I don't care about any stinking gnomes!" Rose fumed, kicking one completely over. It smashed and a bleeding gnome fled from the broken shell on little stumpy legs. He limped a little way across the garden and dived into the hedge before Rose could get a good swing at his bare backside.

"Gnomes have feelings too you know. If you hadn't been so mean he might have bitten you and then you would become extra clever." Luna pointed out calmly as she pulled her wand out of her large yellow wellington boots. With a casual flick of her wand she repaired all of the mess Rose had made which would have angered the Weasley had she not been distracted by what Luna had said.

"Aunt Luna, you know there's no solid proof that Gnome bites don't correlate with an increase in intelligence." Rose sighed in a very Hermione-esque way.

"You sound a lot like your mother. Just because it hasn't been documented doesn't mean that it's true." Luna denied in her veiled yet stubborn way.

"I- But- IT DOESN'T EVEN MATTER!" Rose exploded, taking another swing at the recently rightened flower pot.

"Oh dear. What's gotten you in such a state?" Luna frowned. She didn't dare lay a comforting hand on Rose. The red-head was a lot like her father in the way she would shrug of the slightest touch when he was fuming. It was best to keep a safe distance for the time being.

"Dad hexed Scorpius and said I'm never allowed to see him again!" Rose wailed, throwing herself onto a bench beside the path.

"Why would he do that?" Luna asked even though she was fully aware of Ron Weasley's stance on all things Malfoy-related.

"Because- because he found me sleeping with him!" Through the angry tears that had started to stream down her face Rose turned bright red.

"Sleeping with Scorpius?" Luna echoed in the most neutral voice that she could muster.

"Yes! Sleeping! We were asleep in the orchard together because I was upset about not getting all Os in my O.W.L.s so he came to comfort me and we fell asleep watching the stars! That was all that happened, I swear!" Rose sniffed as she defended herself with more passion than Luna had expected from her. Then again, Luna shouldn't have underestimated Rose. Being the teenage daughter of Ron and Hermione was definitely a recipe for very strong opinions and feelings. Look at what her parents did at her age after all. Rose had done nothing compared to them.

"I believe you," Luna said softly. After a moment's hesitation she dared to take Rose's hand in her own to pat comfortingly. "But you've got to understand that for your parents the simple act of sleeping together means a whole lot more than it does to you and others in your generation."

"Why?" Rose frowned. "I don't understand."

"Would you like to?" Luna knew that sometimes people – and especially teenagers – didn't want to hear the truth. There was no point forcing knowledge on them if this was the case. Better to save the energy for someone who would make good use of it.

"Yes! The more I know the better I can explain to my Dad what really happened and convince him to see things my way!" Rose exclaimed as she was struck by her own seemingly brilliant idea.

"Well I'm not sure how that will work out but here we go." Luna smiled.

Your father, mother, aunts and uncles were teenagers and young adults in a time of war, just as I was. It was terrifying and stressful as we all knew that we might be killed the very next day. Those were confusing times. It was very difficult to tell who was on whose side. Many obeyed the Death Eaters' commands because they were too scared of the consequences for standing up and saying no. For members of Dumbledore's Army at the very least it was nearly impossible to tell who to let in. One mistake and we'd have been exposed and punished in the worse way.

I don't know what it was like for your parents. They were on the run with Harry for months before my path crossed with theirs but I can imagine a similar experience for them which was the feeling of being cold and alone in a war you had very little idea of how to win. We were all only one or two years older than you at the time. We didn't know what we were doing or if we'd survive. Intimacy was all but dead for a lot of us but we needed it all the same.

You said you and Scorpius were just sleeping together, yes? Well in the time of War sleeping together meant you trusted the other person with your life quite literally. In the Room of Requirement we always had someone awake on guard in case we were found out. Less than a hundred students in one room from three different houses, trusting one another with their lives. We did it because we had to. We did it to feel safe.

A lot of people who weren't with us slept together too. Both boys and girls in the upper years used the looming threat to manipulate one another to do more than just sleep sometimes. After it was all over we heard horrible stories that would drain all the beautiful colour from your hair if you heard them. One of the least gruesome stories was about a fifth year couple actually. She was a Hufflepuff, he a Slytherin. She had crept into his bed that night to sleep as they had both been tortured during the Dark Arts class that day. When he woke to find her there all and his dorm mates looming over them he denounced her then and there, letting them drag her away to practice the Cruciatus Curse before handing her over to the Carrows. He betrayed her trust Rose. Your father is only scared Scorpius will betray yours.

Humans are terribly vulnerable while they're sleeping you see. Not all of us have that extra sense which wakes us up before something bad happens. We're defenceless unless the person at our side can be trusted. What your father did was wrong, that much is true, but he only did it to try and protect you in ways that we couldn't protect each other when we were young.

"_But it's not like that anymore!"_

No, it's not but the ideas we form as teenagers often stick with us long into adulthood. That's why Uncle Harry is an auror and your mother seeks justice and equality. We're all working to change the world from the dark place it was then based on the ideas we used to have. It's not impossible for people to change you know. There's still hope for your father but he still might not understand.

"_Why? Is there more to sleeping together than just trust? Because I trust Scorpius! I know he'd never hurt me. We're best friends!"_

It's good that you trust him. You should do if you've slept side-by-side. But best friends slept together all the time once and nearly all of them ended up married.

"_That's ridiculous! I don't want to marry Scorpius! I just… I don't want to feel alone."_

Maybe not but it happened a lot. Your parents are an example and they worry you'll follow in their footsteps.

"_There must be someone who didn't follow the example!"_

There are definitely a few examples out there. I know I definitely didn't.

"_You? With who?"_

While Harry was away Neville Longbottom took over command of Dumbledore's Army. No one asked him to. No one put him up to it. Neville took the initiative and acted bravely alone. Later Ginny and I joined him as seconds in command but that doesn't matter. What matters is that for a very long time Neville was tortured by the teachers and attacked by his classmates for standing up for what was right. One time some students managed to get into Gryffindor tower and they cursed him whilst he slept. It was only because his roommate Seamus was there that he was saved at all. Pretty quickly Neville found himself unable to sleep at night. I was scared for him. He was becoming more reckless than brave because what did it matter? Now he wasn't sleeping he had more hours at his disposal to do what needed to be done.

It was my idea to take him to the room of requirement. I knew Neville would be able to rest easy there. When I proposed the idea Ginny agreed that Neville should do it but she didn't want to come with us. She felt the need to stay and protect the Gryffindor girls so I went with Neville instead. Nobody attacked the Ravenclaws. We knew too much about everyone and everything. Being smart gave us security that Neville didn't have so I went with him to keep an eye out at the very least and to make sure he actually slept.

The room gave us everything we needed. Two separate beds, a bathroom, a fire to keep the room warm. There was a sneakoscope on the cabinet between us just in case too. We should have been fine but that was the night some third years escaped after curfew and started setting off a certain Weasley brand of fireworks off in the corridor below to mess with the Carrows. The explosions were enough to frighten Neville in his new bed. His hands were trembling so I climbed in beside him and held them still in my own by twining my fingers through his. It worked and soon he fell asleep by my side. When we woke Neville was holding on to me like a child does a teddy bear. I didn't mind then and I never minded all the times after.

We ended up sharing a hammock when others started moving in to the room with us. The gentle swing was actually quite relaxing and sleeping next to Neville was warm and comforting. So comforting in fact that when the war was over we would stay together for days at a time, just to feel safe when we slept even though the danger was over. It was so difficult to believe it was all over, that we were safe again. Everyone had their rocks to cling to.

Neville and I had each other for three years after it was all over. We fixed and finished the school, selected our career paths and it looked like we were going to go completely separate ways. Neville was training to replace the old Herbology teacher Professor Sprout. I was about to restart my father's old magazine. We were going to lose one another in the long term. I could see it. So could he. Neville still needed his rock. He still shook when he slept and had more nightmares than a boy his age should. He panicked so he asked me to marry him in the middle of the night after one of his bad dreams.

We were so young and like you and Scorpius we were just sleeping. I loved him but not enough. I didn't love him in the way that a wife should so I said no and we went back to sleep.

Rose looked at Luna in a way that neither of them could describe. The teen was clearly speechless so Luna felt it was best to break the silence with a summary.

"Sleeping together means something entirely different to your father and I, Rose. He might not ever understand but getting mad about it doesn't solve anything. Show him that life is different now but be level-headed about it." Luna stood up and stretched a little before turning towards the Burrow. "Oh, and be careful around Scorpius too. You're both too young to think about marriage now but either of you could change your minds later, especially if it turns from just sleeping into to something more."

With that final afterthought Luna left Rose on to remain speechless on her own as she had promised to visit Ginny that afternoon anyway. On her way through the kitchen Luna was stopped by Ron who gave her a questioning look having seen her with his daughter in the garden.

"I was telling her about what it was like, just sleeping." Luna explained with a small shrug.

Ron nodded as he understood. Still, he folded his arms and leaned against the counter, waiting for Rose to come back inside.

"It's a different world now you know Ron. You should have more faith in her." Luna advised him before ducking into the living room.

Outside Rose began to get a little cold as the wind picked up. If weather spells were legal she would have been certain that her father had conjured the change in an attempt to bring her inside. He couldn't have though and even if he had it didn't matter. She was too busy evaluating the extent to which she really trusted Scorpius and envisioning there future. Had divination been a real subject she might have consorted to looking to the future. Luna's stories hadn't scared her but she was concerned now. Just sleeping was a big thing – something she'd never realised before – as it had the power to change everything.


End file.
